The Xucuru are an indigenous people with a population of approximately 8,500, living in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. They have recently gained governmental recognition of their rights to their indigenous homeland in the Ororubo Mountains , though this has brought them into conflict with the local settler population of the region. In 1998, a Xucuru leader, Chicão (Francisco de Assis Araújo), was assassinated, apparently because of his opposition to the encroachment of ranchers in Xucuru territory.